Elton John was taken for a ride by pranksters pretending to be Russian President Vladimir Putin last week. But now, Putin has confirmed that he spoke with Elton John earlier this week and invited him to meet face-to-face.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin called John after concluding a meeting about agriculture in Southern Russia. He apologized for the prank and offered to meet John in the future.
Peskov related that portion of Putin’s conversation to Russian news agencies.
“I know that those phone pranksters fooled you. Please don’t be angry with them.”
The phone pranksters, comedians who go by the names Vovan and Lexus, posted the audio of the call in question. They gamed John for 10 whole minutes while impersonating Putin. Peskov said that, like the pranksters, Putin is open to the idea of a meeting, should John be able to make room in his schedule.
“Putin also said that he understands how popular Elton John is, so if their schedules permit, he will be willing to meet him in the future and discuss any issues that he is concerned about.”
John has previously called out Russia and its president regarding its official stance toward the LGBT community and recently passed anti-propaganda laws that could put gay Russians at risk of imprisonment.
(Via ABC News)
